this week I visited pop shelf for the very first time with a really good friend of mine on what we have coined “mom‘s day out”
I had heard little of it before visiting myself, however, I chalked it up to them being fairly new.
While my day out was fun I was only mildly impressed by this new mystical store I found myself perusing. (Think more colorful version of family dollar or dollar general here.)
Sure their cute seasonal setup was aesthetically pleasing and they have an array of items but I wasn’t immersed in wonder or jumping for joy.
(To be fair, there is very little I would jump for.)
The item availability and quality seemed nice enough and their prices seemed fair but one item caught my attention specifically.
Pink tax is real and in this moment that was evident.
Being that my daughter’s birthday is in June and my son just had his birthday last month; I found myself browsing the party section filled with bags, gift wrapping, sashes, tissue paper, and birthday ribbons.
The birthday ribbons I felt were a must purchase item until I saw that while one of each was gendered towards a boy and a girl and they were essentially the same generic birthday ribbons in pink and blue the pink one was TWICE the price of the blue for the same item in pink.
I doubt very seriously it cost them anything more to make the pink ribbon than it did the blue and I found the price hike unfair but I digress.
During this visit, I picked up a few items and collected a very small Pop Shelf Haul.
The process of shopping and self-checkout was simple enough and it wasn’t overwhelmingly crowded or busy which I enjoyed for my calm leisurely day.
While my first encounter was brief and left me with a slightly sour impression of the brand I may go back if I’m in the area.
Don’t get me wrong, Pop Shelf has the potential to be great especially if they start paying attention to slight oversights and gaps in marketing.
During this trip, I purchased two different print sets of Easter ears to include in my children’s Easter baskets
An extremely soft cupcake print baby blanket for my daughter because I call her “Cupcake”
*DISCLAIMER: I’ve yet to see how well it holds up after washing*
The Birthday pin Ribbon For her upcoming birthday (only after mentioning the price discrepancy to the employee before my purchase was made)
And a beautiful well-bound journal/ Notebook for myself and upcoming big events.
In short: yes, I’d go back likely once a season max.. Or if it were the last time simi-decent store on earth.
Moral of the story; gender price hiking for the same exact item is crap & good friends make even somewhat lackluster things great!
Be kind today
Xx -Tator